New Jerseyans Stuck in a 90 Year Backlog for the American Dream

Protest in Trenton, New Jersey on April 29^th will highlight the plight of tens of thousands of immigrants stuck in the green card backlog.

Trenton, New Jersey, April 29^th, 2018. Hundreds of New Jersey residents facing a 90-year wait for a green card, are marching in Trenton, New Jersey on April 29th to demand that their local representatives do something to address their situation.

Protest organizers Padma Katapalli and Karthik Dontula want the march to shine a light on the heartbreaking situation facing tens of thousands of employment based immigrants in the state – many of whom might die before they get their green cards, due to unfair and archaic per country limits.

The green card backlog is created by an archaic system that has not kept pace with how employment-based visas are allocated. There are no per-country limits to awarding skill-based employment visas, but an arbitrary cap of 7% per country for green cards is a policy that still remains in place, creating a massive backlog. Every year, the backlog grows exponentially leaving more and more employees of Fortune 500 companies and New Jersey businesses stuck in a permanent limbo.

According to Padma, “This is an issue that acutely impacts immigrants from India, who also make up the largest pool of high-skilled professionals in New Jersey. There are doctors, engineers, scientists, nurses, teachers, start-up founders and other business professionals all affected by this.”

Co organizer Karthik adds, “Almost everyone impacted have advanced degrees from US universities, they are hired by US companies working in jobs that require highly specialized skills, and they are contributing members of their community, all while waiting for decades while waiting for their green cards, all while watching their peers from other countries receive green cards in as little as 6 months.”

The impact on their families is equally heartbreaking. The nearly 1 century-long wait card backlog unfairly impacts children who came to the US legally with their parents, but age out of their parents’ visa by the age of 21, leaving them with no other option but to go back to a country they don’t know. The Trump administration’s plan to rescind the work authorization extended to dependents (mostly women) waiting for their green card will also have a devastating impact in New Jersey, where the cost of living is among the highest in the country, and

New Jerseyans are marching on April 29^th at the Sate House Annex in Trenton, New Jersey from 1:30PM to let their neighbors and communities know about their frustrating situation. The impacted immigrant community will be sharing personal stories, and calling on their local representatives, their congressmen and senators to advocate for common-sense and bi-partisan solutions, including HR 392, a bipartisan bill that has a record-breaking 322 co-sponsors.

The protest will also bring together hundreds of individuals from the neighboring states of New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania and Delaware. This pillar of immigration is often missing from the current discourse and the community hopes that events such as these will encourage law makers to act.

For more information, please contact:

Padma Katapalli: 609-216-0791

Karthik Dontula: 812-236-9968
www.GCReforms.org

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